How Marvel is using Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther comic as inspiration for the new film

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We know Marvel is spinning Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther off for a solo film, but we don’t know much about what form that project might take. But now it looks like fans have some reading to do.

The film’s writer/director, Ryan Coogler, chatted with Vulture about the approach they’re taking to bring T’Challa to the big screen with his own story (after stealing a bit of the spotlight in Captain America: Civil War). The big takeway? Coogler has become a really big fan of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ ongoing Black Panther comic run, and he said they’ll “absolutely” draw some influence from the acclaimed comic.

Here’s an excerpt from his comments:

“Oh, I love it, man. I mean, he’s my favorite writer right now in the world. Since being turned on to his work, I’m reading everything that he does. His nonfiction work, especially. But what he’s doing with Panther is just incredible. You can really see his background as a poet in some of the dialogue. And what Brian Stelfreeze is doing with the visuals in that book. And some of the questions that it’s asking. It’s just inspiring for [co-screenwriter] Joe Robert Cole and myself…

What’s so great about Panther is he’s a superhero who, if you grab him and ask him if he’s a superhero, he’ll tell you, ‘No.’ He sees himself as a politician, as a leader in his country. It just so happens that the country is a warrior-based nation where the leaders have to be warriors, as well, so sometimes he has to go fight. I think starting at that is really so interesting. If you look at that, anything that’s happening in the world right now, or in the world in the past, in the political realm and how people deal with each other, it can be an inspiration.”

If you haven’t been reading Coates’ Black Panther, you should, because it’s one of the most ambitious stories in Marvel’s lineup. The acclaimed author’s first foray into comics is a unique, fascinating tale about a country in crisis and the man tasked with holding it all together.